Vessel assembly



March l12, 1968 R. E. PECHACEK ETAL. 3,372,828-

VES SEL ASSEMBLY Filed May 24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 12, 1968 R. E. PEcHAcr-:K ETAL VESSEL ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 24, 1965 a 0 2 2 2 @l WM -l -l 2 0 n N Q. 2 2 l l l /M si WY 2 M a3 1D 2 Z ,2Q 2 4. m/U/ United States Patent O 3,372,828 VESSEL ASSEMBLY Raymond E. Pechacelr and Eugene J. Clay, Houston, Tex.,

assignors to Hahn d: Clay, a corporation of Texas Filed May 24, 1965, Ser. No. 458,333 6 Claims. (Cl. 220-5) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A releasable coupling for a vessel adapted to withstand relatively high internal pressure, wherein the coupling has substantially the same wall thickness as the wall of the vessel, and wherein the coupling may be quickly released when desired.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in vessel assemblies.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved vessel assembly wherein two sections of a vessel or other parts subjected to pressure are releasably connected to each other and are releasable from each other by longitudinal relative movement of the two sections.

An important object of -this invention is to provide a vessel having a new and improved releasable coupling for releasably connecting an end closure to a cylinder, wherein the coupling has a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the cylinder.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved vessel assembly wherein fingers on adjacent vessel parts are intertted and are releasably held in the interfitted position by a plurality of releasable pins.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved vessel assembly wherein interfitting longitudinally releasable fingers on adjacent vessel parts are held together by retaining pins which are tapered and are disposed in correspondingly tapered holes in the fingers.

The preferred embodiment of this invention will be described hereinafter, together with other features thereof, and additional objects will become evident from such description.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and where- 1n:

FIG. l is an elevation, partly in section, illustrating one form of the vessel assembly of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in vertical section, and partly in elevation, illustrating a fragmentary portion of the vessel assembly of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a vertical, sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating one modification of the vessel assembly or closure of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a vertical, sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating another modification of the vessel assembly or closure of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a vertical, sectional view, illustrating still another form of the and FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view taken on a line 6 6 of FlG. 4 to further illustrate the form of the invention shown in FIG. 4.

ln the drawings, the letter P designates generally a vessel, usually a pressure vessel. The vessel P may take many forms in connection with the present invention, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, such vessel P includes a cylinder 10 having an end closure 11 welded thereto along a circular weld 12 of conventional type. On the other end of the vessel P, an end closure 14 is provided which is welded along a circular seam 15 to a releasable finger partly in elevation, present invention;

ICC

section or annular end portion 16 which is releasably connected to a similar releasable linger section or annular end portion 18 by one or more retaining pins 2li, as will be more fully explained. Thus, with this invention, the pins 2() are removable, preferably radially, so that the end closure or other vessel section 14 is releasable from the cylinder 10 or other vessel section by relative longitudinal movement therebetween.

Considering the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the annular end portion. or linger section 16 is formed of a plurality of annular rings or layers, wherein alternate rings or layers 22 project longitudinally further than the other alternating layers 24 therebetween. Thus, the layers 22 are each formed with an annular end 22a which projects further longitudinally than the longitudinal end 24a formed on each of the layers 24. The annular space between the layers 22 is indicate-d in FIG. 2 by the numeral 25 and it may be termed a recess or groove, the purpose of which will be more evident hereinafter.

The annular end portion or finger section 18 on the vessel cylinder 10 is formed with a plurality of fingers or layers, with alternate layers 28 projecting further longitudinally than the alternate layers 3l) adjacent thereto. When the annular end portions 15 and 18 are interfitted, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the ends 28a are in contact with or adjacent to the ends 24a of the layers or fingers 24. Likewise, the annular ends 30a of the fingers 3tlare in contact with or adjacent to the ends 22a of the fingers or layers 22.

The layers 22 and the layers 28 have a plurality of sets of radially-aligned openings 22b and 2317 for receiving each of the retaining pins 20, as best seen in FIG. 2. It is to be observed that the pins 20 are disposed circumferentially, with a pin 20 positioned in each set of the radially-aligned openings formed by the openings 22b and ZSb of the layers 22 and 28, respectively.

For providing a fiuid seal inwardly of the pins 20, an annular ring or seal member 32 is provided. Such ring 32 is preferably welded, as indicated at 32a to one of the layers, such as the innermost layer 3d. The weld 32a extends for the full circular seam so as to provide a liuid seal at the right-hand end of the ring 32, as viewed in FIG. 2. A fluid seal is provided at the other end of the ring 32, as viewed in FIG. 2, by an O-ring 33 formed of rubber `or other resilient material and which is disposed within a groove B2b to form an annular seal between the ring 32 and the innermost layer or finger 22. Thus, when fluid is present Within the vessel P, the ring or seal member 32 prevents the escape of such fluid even though the sets of radial openings for the pins 20 are provided through the wall thickness of the vessel P, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the use or operation of the vessel assembly, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the end closure 14, which is generally( hemispherical, is releasably secured to the vessel cylinder 10 by means of the removable retaining pins 26. Thus, the fingers on the finger sections 16 and 18 are interfitted, as illustrated in FiGS. 1 and 2, so that the plurality of sets of radially-aligned openings receive such retaining pins 20. Although the pressure vessel P is shown in the horizontal position in FIGS. 1 and 2, such vessel P will normally be disposed in a vertical position so that the pins 20 extend horizontally and therefore no additional means is required for holding the pins 20 in their respective Openings.

In FIG. 3 of the drawings, a modified form of the invention is illustrated, wherein the annular end portions 116 and 118 are formed as solid rings rather than the` separate layers as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The annular end portion or finger section 116 includes longitudinally-extending annular fingers 122 which correspond with the lingers 2.2 of the FIG. 2 form of this invention. The annular end portion 118 has fingers 128 which correspond with the lingers 2S of the FlG. 2 form of the invention. Thus, the lingers 122 and 12S are machined or otherwise formed with their respective end portions 116 and 118 so that they intertit and provide the plurality of aligned radial openings 12211 and 128i) for receiving the plurality of cireumferentially-spaced, radially-disposed, re taining pins 2G.

The annular end portion 116 may be welded or otherwise secured to an end closure 114 which may be hemispherical as is the end closure 14 of FIG. 1, the weld being an annular circular seam 115 in the preferred form of the invention. Similarly, the annular end portion 118 is preferably welded to a cylinder 110 lby an annular weld 111m. It will ybe appreciated that the vessel sections 114 and 110 may be of ditTerent configurations than those illustrated and may be either of a single thickness or ot multiple layers.

A seal ring 132 formedof metal or other similar material is disposed inwardly of the plurality of sets of openings for the pins 20 so as to provide a fluid seal to prevent the escape of fluid from within the vessel with which the vessel assembly of this invention is provided. In FIG. 3, the ring 132 has Orings 133 and 134, with the seal ring 133 in sealing engagement with the inner surface of the annular end portion 11d and with the seal ring 134 in sealing engagement with the inner portion of the annular end portion 113. The seal member or ring 132 corresponds with the seal member or ring 32 of FlG. 2, but it can be seen that the O-ring 134 is provided in the FIG. 3 form of the invention rather than the weld 32a used in the FIG. 2 form of the invention. Such rings 32 and 132 are interchangeable in the two forms of the invention.

In the FIG. 3 form of the invention, an annular holding ringor element t) of substantially L-shape in cross section is provided. Such holding ring 50 is slidably disposed over the retaining pins 2t) after the pins 20 are in the holding position shown in FG. 3, A removable shoulder member 51, preferably also formed as a ring, is secured in position with one or more bolts 52 after the ring 5t) has been properly positioned as shown in FIG. 3 s0 as to prevent any displacement of such ring 5t) from externally of the pins 20. When the holding ring 50 is provided, the vessel with which the assembly of this invention is used may be positioned either horizontally or vertically since the holding ring 511 prevents inadvertent dropping of the pins 2t) from their retaining position shown in FIG. 3. The holding ring 50 may `be used with the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 if the vessel P is disposed horizontally. In some cases, the pins 211 may be wedged tightly enough in the radial openings to prevent their falling out of such openings and in such cases, the holding rings Btl are not necessary.

u In FIGS. 4 and 6, another modification of the present lnvention is illustrated, wherein the annular end portion 216 is welded or otherwise secured to an end closure 214, preferably by a circular weld 215, as explained in connection with FIG. 3. Also, an annular end portion 218 is preferably welded to the vessel cylinder 21() by a circular weld 210:1. T he annular end portion has a plurality of lingers 222, which interlit with a plurality of annular fingers 223 on the annular end portion 218. It is to be noted that the lingers 222 and 22S are tapered so as to wedge within the annular recesses between such lingers to provvide a tighter fit as compared to the fit obtained with the lingers 22 and 23 and the ngers 122 and 128. Although the single row of retaining pins as illustrated in FIG. 1 may be employed, FIG. 4 indicates another form of this invention wherein staggered retaining pins 220 are provided in two circumferential rows so that the pins 220 may be positioned closer to each other, if desired.

In the FIG. 4 form of the invention, the seal ring 232 is welded at 23?;[1 and 2321) to the lowermost or innermost surface of the annular end portion 218, and additionally,

an O-ring 233 is provided between the innermost finger 223 and the innermost finger 222 so as to provide a fluid seal to prevent the escape of tluid from internally of the vessel. The form of the seal ring 232 together with the O- ring 233 may be used in any of the other forms o the invention described herein, and likewise, the seal rings 32 and 132 may be interchanged with the seal ring 232, if desired.

The holding ring or member 256 is basically the same as that illustrated at 5d in FIG. 3, and it includes the removable ring portion 251 and one or more bolts or screws 252 holding the releasable ring 251 in position. It is to be noted that the holding ring or element 250 spans both circumferential sets or rows of the retaining pins 220 (FIG. 6).

In FIG. 5, still another modification of the present vessel assembly invention is illustrated, wherein annular end portions 316 and 318 are provided with intertting annular fingers 322 and 328, respectively. In FIG. 5, the retaining pins 32@ are tapered and accordingly, the openings 32211 and 328i? are tapered, as illustrated in FIG. 5, so as to wedge the pins 320 in each ot the sets of radiallyaligned openings 322i; and 3281). Such tapered pins 320 have several advantages as compared to the straight pins 20, namely, they are easier to remove, they permit a driving t insuring metal-to-metal contact between the pin surfaces and the hole surfaces, and there is a better distribution of hearing stresses.

In order to automatically distribute the bearing stresses on the pins 320 uniformly, the following ratio should be provided:

dl/dFDl/D2 wherein dl is the pin diameter at the inside of the vessel, d2 is the pin diameter at the outside of the vessel, D1 is the inside vessel diameter, and D2 is the outside vessel diameter. Such designations appear in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

it should be understood that the fingers 322 and 328 may lbe tapered as is illustrated in connection with FIG. 4, and conversely, the tapered pins 320 may be employed in the other forms of this invention in place of the straight pins illustrated in connection with such other forms of the invention.

A retaining ring 332 which is identical with that illustrated at 132 in FIG. 3 is provided in the FiG. 5 form of the invention, although any of the other types of seal rings 32 and 232 may be used in the FIG. 5 form ofthe invention as desired. The holding member 354), the removable ring 351 and the screws or bolts 352 all correspond with the holding member Sil, ring 51 and screws 52 of FIG. 3 and serve to hold the pins 32@ in position when the vessel is disposed horizontally. However, since the pins 320 are tapered, they may be driven in tightly enough to eliminate the need for the holding ring 359, even when the vessel is disposed horizontally.

The operation or use of the various forms of the invention are the same. It will be understood that the vessel assembly of this invention is particularly suitable for attaching a releasable end closure to a vessel cylinder, but such vessel assembly of this invention may be employed for connecting together two vessel cylinders or two hemispheres or any other similar vessel sections.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape, and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A vessel having a releasable coupling, comprising:

(a) a rst vessel section having an annular end portion,

(b) a second vessel section having an annular end portion,

(c) the annular end portion of the first vessel section being formed with a plurality of annular, radiallydisposed layers wherein alternate layers project longitudinally beyond the adjacent alternate layers to form a plurality of radiallyspacefl, annular grooves,

(d) the annular end portion of the second vessel section being formed with a plurality of annular, radially-disposed layers wherein alternate layers project longitudinally beyond the adjacent alternate layers to form a plurality of radially-spaced, annular grooves,

(e) the projecting layers on the iirst vessel section fitting into the annular grooves on the second vessel section and the projecting layers on the second vessel section iitting into the annular grooves on the first vessel section so that the projecting layers on the sections longitudinally overlap each other,

(f) the overlapping portions of the layers on the sections having a plurality of sets of circumferentiallyspaced, radially-aligned holes, and

(g) a retaining pin releasably positioned in each of said sets of radially-aligned holes for releasably retaining the overlapping layers in their overlapped relationship.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein the first vessel section is an end closure and the second vessel section is a cylinder.

3. A vessel having a releasable coupling,

(a) a lirst vessel tion,

(b) a second vessel section having an annular end portion,

(c) a first coupling section extending from said annular end portion of said first vessel section and forming a part of said iirst vessel section,

(d) said rst coupling section having a plurality of annular radially-disposed lingers with an annular groove between adjacent fingers,

(e) a second coupling section extending from said annular end portion of said second vessel section and forming a part of said second vessel section,

(f) said second coupling section having a plurality of annular radially-disposed fingers with an annular groove between adjacent tingers,

comprising: section having an annular end por- (g) said lingers on said iirst coupling section and on said second coupling section intertting with each other and filling said grooves in said sections to form a continuous wall thickness with said interlitting iingers which is substantially the same as the wall thickness of each vessel section,

(h) the interiitting portions of said fingers having a plurality of sets of circumferentially-spaced, radiallyaligned holes, and

(i) a retaining pin releasably positioned in each of said sets of holes for releasably retaining said lingers in their interlitting relationship.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3, wherein:

(a) each of said fingers has a tapered cross-sectional area, and

(b) each of said openings for receiving said lingers has a correspondingly tapered cross-sectional area.

5. The structure set fort-h in claim 3, wherein:

(a) each of said radially-aligned holes is tapered from a larger outer diameter to a smaller inner diameter, and

(b) each of said retaining pins is tapered to correspond with the tapered holes.

6r. The structure set forth in claim 3, wherein:

(a) each of said radially-aligned holes is tapered fromI a larger outer diameter to a smaller inner diameter,

(b) each of said retaining pins is tapered to correspond with the tapered holes, and

(c) the ratio of the outer diameter of each retaining pin to its inner diameter being equal to the ratio of the inside diameter of the vessel to the outside diameter of the vessel to automatically distribute bearing stresses on each pin uniformly throughout its length.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,123,243 3/1964 Roesch 220-5 3,215,304 11/1965 Rohe 220-45 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,693 1884 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. G. E. LOWRANCE, Assistant Examiner. 

